


Skipping Stones

by WinryMarellie



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Ellie - Freeform, Friendship, Joel - Freeform, The Last of Us - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 14:38:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2776754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinryMarellie/pseuds/WinryMarellie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short story about Joel and Ellie as they take a quick detour from their route.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Skipping Stones

She stacked a small pile of pebbles beside her feet. Knees to her chest, she held them close with one arm as her free hand stroked the smooth, dirt covered stone of each rock. The sound of the passing river filled her ears as its water dripped from her freshly washed hair onto the nape of her neck. 

Her face felt fresh, scrubbed free of dirt and blood and it stung as the incoming fall air hit her cheeks. This was a rare feeling, as any sort of bath seemed unlikely these days. 

"Gross..." She muttered as she leaned her head down to sniff her clothes. The scent of sweat burned her nostrils as she thought of how badly she wanted to wash them too. Only her face and hair for now, though. Joel wanted to be quick, as this was only a pit stop while he looked through a cabin for supplies. 

She unfolded her legs and crossed them, trying to keep herself from smelling her own filth. She focused on the rocks again, picking one up and looking at its smooth shape as a result of years of weathering. It amused her, even though it was just a pebble. Simple things like that were really all you could see as entertaining these days. The simplicity of nature, the peacefulness of it. It became enjoyable compared to the hectic world that surrounded them. 

The girl got to her feet, shifting them in the dirt to make a stance, launching the stone into the water. "Damn." She said aloud as it sunk straight into the water.

"Ellie what are you doing over there?" Joel called from the door of the cabin. 

"Trying to skip rocks!" She shouted back, turning her body towards him. "Do you know how?" 

"Come on now's not the time to be fooling around. I'm almost ready to go get your stuff together." 

She groaned, "Come on Joel! Just teach me I promise I'm a fast learner!" 

The man scratched his head and sighed, emerging from the door and stretching out his throwing arm. "Fine but after this we gotta head out. I don't want to stay in this area too long."

"Deal." Ellie replied and handed him a rock from her pile. 

He looked at it for a moment and tossed it along the riverbank, "That's your first problem, you aren't getting good rocks. You want something flatter than that." He began looking along the ground till he found one, picking it up with his pointer finger and thumb, showing it to the girl. "You want one's like this. They work better for skipping." 

"Okay." She began looking around for her own. "This good?" She asked, holding one up to him. 

"Yep, that'll work." He replied and shifted into position. "Now you're gonna want to bring your arm back and flick your wrist right before you let go. Here watch me." He proceeded to toss the rock as he stated beforehand, flicking his wrist and sending it skimming across the stretch of water. It bounced about five times before it sunk to the bottom. 

"How'd you get that good?" Ellie asked, in slight awe of his skill. 

Joel stretched again, his old joints cracking with each movement, "Practice, I guess. Used to go camping a lot when I was younger, and it was a fun way to pass the time. Go ahead and try for yourself."

"Okay." Ellie got into position, pulling her arm back and releasing the rock into the air. It skimmed across the water two times before sinking. 

Her face lit up with joy as she thrusted her fist in the air with accomplishment, "Yeah! I did it!"

"Good job, kiddo." Joel congratulated before taking a step back towards the cabin. "Now come on and grab your backpack, we need to get going." 

"Okay." She picked her bag up off the dirt covered ground and dusted it off before she swung it over her shoulder, watching as Joel began walking back to the building. "Hey Joel?"

"Yeah?" He asked, turning back to look at her.

"Thanks for teaching me." 

A smile cracked across his lips, "It's not a problem, really." He turned back to the cabin and Ellie followed behind him.


End file.
